A not-so-micro Micro podcast on Metroid II and Samus Returns

Somehow, without meaning to, Bob and I appear to have become locked into a game of brinksmanship as each of us tries to stretch the meaning of the name "Retronauts Micro" a little further than one another, each one-upping the other's feat with each new Micro podcast. I feel today it's been stretched beyond the bounds of linguistic elasticity, though, as this latest "Micro" clocks in just shy of an hour and 15 minutes. That's about an hour longer than Micros were supposed to top out at when we first launched this offshoot of the show.

In hindsight, we probably should have gone with a different name.

Chris Sims and Benj Edwards and I didn't mean to go on for so long; this was meant to be a sidebar to our recent Metroidvania Beyond NES episode. Probably just as well that we set it aside, though — otherwise that episode would have lasted two and half hours and the Bombcast would be pressing charges for muscling in on their gig. (And if you've been wondering why that metroidvania episode seemed a little scattered, it's because we recorded this Micro first and burned out our brain cells by mistake.)

Of course, the reason this episode goes on at such lengths is because it's not just a Metroid II retrospective. We also explore the game's recent remake, Samus Returns. I've played a lot more of the remake since I last wrote about it, and while my overall criticisms of the game haven't gone away, they've softened somewhat. I still dislike how constantly dense and repetitive it is; the game has terrible flow in the long term, with no respite from overly fussy puzzle environments and metroid fights, and that keeps it from joining the ranks of the true greats. But it's not bad. The Mercurysteam team could definitely put together a top-flight Metroid with a little more time and guidance. And Samus Returns is worth playing in any case, just get a sense of its intriguing holistic approach to the franchise.

Episode description: Words no longer have any meaning as Jeremy, Benj, and Chris record a so-called Micro episode that last more than an hour. But then, there's a lot to say about Metroid II and its remake, Samus Returns.